Industrial, construction, manufacturing and automotive repair activities sometimes create or are carried out in environments containing dust or chemical fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays or vapors. A variety of known diseases are caused by breathing air contaminated with these harmful agents. In order to prevent these diseases in employees, engineering control measures, such as enclosure or confinement of the working operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials, may be employed. When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the United States Department of Labor requires that appropriate respirators be used by affected employees. Essentially, OSHA requires that a suitable respirator be provided to each employee when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of the employee. Furthermore, it is required that the employer provide a respirator which is applicable and suitable for the occupational purpose in connection with which it is used.
Respirators that are used in a work environment are conventionally packaged in airtight, resealable containers. They are rated for a particular time of exposure or “service time”, and may only be used for the rated service time, after which they must be discarded. When in use, they are considered to be “exposed” and this exposure time is deducted from the total service time. OSHA regulations require that the employer establish and maintain a respiratory protection program which covers each employee required to use a respirator. This program must require that each respirator be kept in an airtight container when not in use and that the cumulative period of use be tracked so that the respirator may be retired when the rated service time has expired. Consequently, most employers require that respirators be resealed in their original airtight containers when not in use, and that the time of exposure be manually recorded by the operator or another individual responsible for maintaining required safety records involving operator exposure.
Recent regulations by OSHA have required much more stringent tracking of operator exposure to airborne contaminants. Because current methods of tracking and record keeping typically involve manually tracking, recording and archiving operator respirator usage, errors are common. In addition, employees may not be diligent about resealing their respirators in airtight containers when not in use. It would be desirable if a method and apparatus could be developed that would automate the system of tracking and recording respirator usage in such a way as to require that the respirator be placed in a sealed chamber when not in use. Such a method and apparatus would provide an operator much better protection from breathing harmful airborne contaminates, therefore promoting a much healthier work experience. Furthermore, it would make it easier to demonstrate compliance with the existing regulations.
Notes on Construction
The use of the terms “a”, “an”, “the” and similar terms in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising”, “having”, “including” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The terms “substantially”, “generally” and other words of degree are relative modifiers intended to indicate permissible variation from the characteristic so modified. The use of such terms in describing a physical or functional characteristic of the invention is not intended to limit such characteristic to the absolute value which the term modifies, but rather to provide an approximation of the value of such physical or functional characteristic. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise specified herein or clearly indicated by context.
Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both moveable and rigid attachments or relationships, unless specified herein or clearly indicated by context. The term “operatively connected” is such an attachment, coupling or connection that allows the pertinent structures to operate as intended by virtue of that relationship.
The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (e.g., “such as” and “preferably”) herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and the preferred embodiments thereof, and not to place a limitation on the scope of the invention. Nothing in the specification should be construed as indicating any element as essential to the practice of the invention unless so stated with specificity. Several terms are specifically defined herein. These terms are to be given their broadest possible construction consistent with such definitions, as follows:
As used herein, the term “replaceable filtration cartridge” means a cartridge or other container with a filter, sorbent, catalyst, or combination thereof which removes contaminants from the air that is passed therethrough.
As used herein, the term “respirator” means a wearable filtration device that is (or has one or more replaceable filtration cartridges which are) rated to provide adequate respiratory protection for a specified service period (as hereinafter defined).
As used herein, the terms “sealable”, “sealed” and similar terms, when used to describe or refer to a chamber of a respirator container, refers to a condition by which air and any contaminants contained or entrained therein are substantially prevented from passing into or out of the chamber.
As used herein, the term “service period” means the period of time that a particular respirator or the replaceable filtration cartridge for a particular respirator is rated to provide adequate respiratory protection. When the service period has elapsed, the respirator or the replaceable filtration cartridge must be retired from further use. The term “service period for a particular respirator” means the service period for a particular respirator or for the replaceable filter cartridge employed in a particular respirator.